I write this after the senior American and Chinese leaders who met at Kuala Lumpur reached an understanding on trade issues which are likely to lead to a broad agreement between the two countries. This is expected to happen when Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping meet in Seoul on Thursday, October 27, on the sidelines of the summit of the leaders of Southeast Asian Nations.

"We are moving forward to the final details of the type of agreement that the leaders can review and decide if they want to conclude together," Jamieson Greer, the United States trade representative, said to newspaper reporters after talks with the Chinese. China's top trade negotiator, Li Chengang, described the talks as "candid and in-depth discussions" on the trade deal, adding that the two sides had reached "preliminary consensus."

The issues discussed between the officials included bilateral trade, export controls, reciprocal tariff extensions and fentanyl trafficking. Greer said that negotiations also included rare earth metals which the Chinese had put under tight export controls. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters conducting a Sunday news programme This Week, that he anticipated a "fantastic meeting" between Mr Trump and Mr Xi in South Korea later in the week. The framework agreed to by American and Chinese officials included agricultural purchases of concern to farmers in the United States who have been exporting large quantities of soybeans to China.

"The president had given me maximum leverage when he threatened 100 percent........

© The Express Tribune